Monday 28 June 2021

Butterflies & Bees Workshop at Rowntree Park Cafe

Workshop at Rowntree Park Cafe

Today was our first indoor workshop, making creatures for the Rowntree Park Butterflies & Bees Yarnstorm.  It took place at the fab Rowntree Park Cafe (my tea and scone were yummy!).  We had plenty of tables and so were able to spread out.  Lots of beautiful things were made and brought. Nicky made some lovely crochet butterflies...

Nicky's Crochet Butterflies

Janet & Christine went wild on pompom bees and Janet also made some knitted and stitched butterflies and flowers...

Janet & Christine's Makes

Heather's fab stitched butterflies are pictured here having a natter and sunbathing...

Heather's Stitched Butterflies

Linda was busy knitting cute little bees...

Linda's Knitted Bees

And Judy had already made quite a swarm of super butterflies...

Judy's Knitted Butterflies

We also had delivery of...

Pie's Knitted & French Knitted Butterflies

Chris' Crochet Butterflies

Sally's Crochet Butterflies

A Vibrant Stitched Butterfly

and there was treasure to collect from the basket too...

Collection Basket in Rowntree Park Cafe

Thanks to everyone who came and those who brought or sent their makes along - we love them all!  Thanks too, to Marcin and the team at Rowntree Park Cafe for making us so welcome.

There's still time to join in with the Butterflies & Bees Yarnstorm.  Our final workshop is next week at the Trafalgar Bay Pub on Nunnery Lane, York - book here. If you want to find out more, take a look here for details, and patterns. If you can't make our final workshop, you can join in by making at home or with friends.  You've got till the end of July 2021 to get your makes to Rowntree Park Cafe.  All the patterns are online here or use your own.  



Friday 11 June 2021

Second Rowntree Park Butterflies & Bees Workshop

Workshop Participants

 
Today was International Yarnbombing Day which was quite appropriate as we were making butterflies and bees for the Butterflies & Bees Yarnstorm that's going up in Rowntree Park, York!  Although the weather wasn't quite as good as at our last workshop it was still warm.  Butterflies and Bees were being stitched, knitted and pompommed...

Stitched Bees & a Pompom Bee

Stitched & Knitted Butterflies

Some flew off to be finished at home.  Gina brought the butterflies she'd been knitting at home to add to the swarm...

Gina's Knitted Butterflies

A group of friends popped by...

Di, Beth, Anne & Monica

to deliver their makes...

Flowers, Butterflies & Bees

and after the workshop, Deborah & I went for a lovely coffee & pastry at Rowntree Park Cafe and collected a few more makes...


Crochet & Pompom Bees and a Fab Felt Butterfly

All in all it was an excellent day for increasing the swarm of butterflies & bees.  Thank you so much to everyone who has made some!

Want to find out more about the Butterflies and Bees Yarnstorm? Take a look here for details, workshops and patterns. If you can't make a workshop, you can join in by making at home or with friends.  You've got till the end of July 2021 to get your makes to Rowntree Park Cafe.  All the patterns are online here or use your own.  Saturday is World Wide Knit in Public Day - so there's an opportunity to dust off your needles and get knitting - in public!


Sunday 6 June 2021

First Rowntree Park Butterflies & Bees Workshop

Workshop Participants


We had our first Butterflies & Bees workshop in Rowntree Park on Saturday.  It was lovely to have an in person workshop.  The weather was glorious and there was plenty of room to spread out.  We had knitting, stitching, pompom making, crocheting, some garden fork weaving and finger knitting going on!

Plentiful supplies were available...

Plentiful Supplies

And lots of fab things were made.  This lovely garden fork butterfly was a team effort by Charlotte, her step-mum Mandi and her dad, Martin...

Garden Fork Butterfly

Candi, Alice, India and Louise stitched some fab bees...

Stitched Bees

Sara crocheted and Louise knitted some super cute bees...

Crochet & Knitted Bees

Val, Iris, Cara & Agnes stitched some beautiful butterflies...

Stitched Butterflies

Cara & Iris, Vicki & Heidi & Charlotte made pompom bees...

Pompom Bees

Heidi also knitted a tiny purple and blue bee which is sitting on a lovely leaf that Muna crocheted...

Knitted Bee Perching on Crochet Leaf

It was a very productive afternoon!

We have another workshop in Rowntree Park on Friday 11 June 2021 - International Yarnbombing Day (how appropriate!).  There are still some places available.  You can book here.  Let's hope for more lovely weather.  If you can't make the workshop you can still join in by making at home or with friends.  You've got till the end of July 2021 to get your makes to Rowntree Park Cafe.  All the patterns are online here or use your own.  More project details are here.


Thursday 3 June 2021

Garden Fork Weaving & a Butterfly

Garden Fork Woven Butterfly

I've been scaling up and being a bit creative with some fork weaving that I watched on YouTube.  On that video (which you can watch here) by Nakshi Kantha World, it shows you how to weave a flower petal on an ordinary, everyday fork and then combine the petals to make a flower.  I thought the petal could be adapted to become a butterfly wing and if done on a larger scale would make a great big butterfly. 

Where, I thought, am I going to find a large fork though?  After a trip to the garden shed however, I had my answer!

So, first wash your garden fork...

Luckily the fork fitted in the bucket!

Washing the garden fork

Find some big yarn.  I had some brightly coloured selvedge edge ribbon that I got from the Cone Exchange (which is a completely amazing place and well worth a visit - at the moment you have to book an appointment).  Alternatively you can make some yourself from old textiles or T shirts - try about 2.5 cm/1 inch wide.  

Start weaving in and out of the fork tines - this is one round

Next, begin weaving round your garden fork.  Don't forget to count how many rounds you do as you have to produce two the same size and then two more but a little smaller! These will be the butterfly's fore and hindwings.  I used orange for the hindwings and pink for the forewings with 15 full rounds for the hindwings and 20 for the forewings.

Continue weaving

You may have to push your yarn down the fork in order to fit on all the rounds you need. When you have done enough rounds, finish with your yarn at the same end you started at.  You will have to cut your yarn off now if it's on a roll.  Make sure you leave enough to feed up and down all the tines and knot the ends.  Err on the side of caution! Next, feed the yarn down between the yarn strands by the end tine.  Turn your fork round and knot your yarn to the end you started with.

Knot the ends together

Then continue threading your yarn up the next tine and down the following one and up the final tine.

Feed your yarn up and down the tines

Then take the yarn down the side of your weaving on the outside and take it up the final tine again.

Ready to take the weaving off the fork

You are now ready to take the weaving off your fork, after which you can pull on this final end and it will gather up one side of the wing.  You can use the yarn tails to attach the wings to the body.

Butterfly wings

I finger knitted a body on four fingers and tied the wings on.  I used the remaining yarn ends to plait some antennae with I attached by threading through the centre of the head. Et voilà...

Finished butterfly

My butterfly is about 46 cm (18 inches) - antennae to tail by 40 cm (15.75 inches) - wingspan.  He's going to be part of the Butterflies and Bees & a Happy 100th Birthday Yarnstorm in Rowntree Park York.  I'll be bringing my garden fork to the two outdoor Butterflies & Bees workshops in Rowntree Park if you fancy having a go.  Don't forget to book you place though!  You can book here. Full Yarnstorm project details here.